“I’m doing things that I didn’t think were possible.”

So says University of Iowa junior Alexia Velasquez about being involved with the UI Breakers, a student organization dedicated to breakdancing and hip-hop culture. 

Members meet twice a week to connect, train, and “battle” with one another in order to improve their hip-hop dance skills. “If you use it right, you could go really far,” says Jesus “Chuy” Renteria, a hip-hop dance instructor in the University of Iowa Department of Dance.

The organization has collaborated with groups such as Dance Marathon, the Vietnamese Student Association, and the Organization for the Active Support of International Students (OASIS), and hosts its own dance competitions.